Royal-Exclusiv / Vertex Cone Skimmer Club

[Enjoy]

I just got a great deal on a used Alpha 200 for my 150g heavily stocked reef tank. I am looking for any info as far as upgrades, or improvements, and is there more than 1 model?
I am hoping that I got the latest and greatest and not the older model.

Any info at all will be helpful. Thanks in advance.
-Andrew

 

[Discus01]

Thank you Jeremy. Are the volutes in the pumps the same as well?

 

[asmodeus]

Vertex Cone 170

Vertex Cone 170

I'm curious now about the volute people are stating that the more you open the volute the drier the skimmate is going to be drier that isnt making sense to me.

 

[Jeremy B.]

The more you open the venturi, the more air draw you get, which means the less water flow you have. The less water flow you have, the lower the water level will be inside the skimmer body, thus drying the skimmate that is produced.

 

[Uncle Luke]

Connected my 170 in my sump. There is some water in the clear tubing (from pump to pripe) that wont clear. Is this normal?

 

[Jeremy B.]

No, that is not normal. It sounds like you have the venturi screwed all the way into the right (closed position). Try opening up the venturi on this some more.

 

[Uncle Luke]

Thanks for the response. This is occuring with the venturi opened 2 full turns.

 

[Enjoy]

I just got a great deal on a used Alpha 200 for my 150g heavily stocked reef tank. I am looking for any info as far as upgrades, or improvements, and is there more than 1 model?
I am hoping that I got the latest and greatest and not the older model.

Any info at all will be helpful. Thanks in advance.
-Andrew

 

[Jeremy B.]

No need to change anything at all on your Alpha 200, they work flawlessly!

Luke, any way you can post a photo of what you're seeing?

 

[Rodrigo_BG]

Hi. I have 2 questions:

1. Do the 200 and 170 model have the same pump? red dragon 1.500 for both?

2. Witch model is suggested for a 120g SPS system (tank + sump)?

 

[Uncle Luke]

No need to change anything at all on your Alpha 200, they work flawlessly!

Luke, any way you can post a photo of what you're seeing?

Nevemind Jeremy, it cleared after about an hour. Thanks

 

[Jeremy B.]

Hi. I have 2 questions:

1. Do the 200 and 170 model have the same pump? red dragon 1.500 for both?

2. Witch model is suggested for a 120g SPS system (tank + sump)?

Both skimmers use the same motorblock, however the impeller sizes, as well as inlet and outlet size of the pump is different.

I would recommend using a 170 on that size system.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[A&M Hoss]

Hey Jeremy, my 170 is doing the same thing Luke's was doing. The pump does not produce a consistent flow of bubbles and is almost chuggin along. For 1 second it spits bubbles into the body and then water shoots up into the clear air hose and no bubbles are produced....then it produces bubbles again....over and over...

I've taken the pump apart and everything appears to be in order. The venturis is would out 2 full turns and the air hose is clear.

Does it matter that I have the skimmer running in regular water? I bought it barely used and want to run it in water/white vinegar to clean it up....havent added the vinegar yet though.

Thoughts?

 

[A&M Hoss]

Alright, I went back and read just about every post I could. This used 170 I have definately has the newer parts....yet the pump is still surging. I've tried the volute at many different lengths, double checked to make sure the air line is clear and not kinked......not sure what else to do. I'll keep messing around with it.

 

[A&M Hoss]

Wish I could figure out how to edit posts....I could just delete the 2 above. I gave the volute 2 turns from closed......put the skimmer in about 10 gallons of my tank water from a water change and after a few minutes...it was working like a champ. Cant wait to get it in the tank tomorrow.

 

[BenjieC]

My RD2 pump stopped working on my 300 internal after about 3-4mths of use. I checked for obstructions and checked the fuse both were fine. Any advise or should I send it back for a replacement? I know they were having some issues with some in the past.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Benjie, you should be under warranty if you bought the skimmer new. Contact Proline Aquatics and they will get the pump replaced for you.

 

[Rodrigo_BG]

thank you Jeremy!

 

[Orr2003]

Jeremy

I have not been keeping up with this thread since you sent me a new pinwheel for my Alpha 300 several months ago. So I am not sure if there are any changes or updates to my skimmer?

However I am having the same problem that I spoke to you on the phone about when I ordered the new pinwheel. My skimmer skims great for 4 or 5 days then it will just freak out and overflow. This has been going on for several months now since putting in the new pinwheel.

This can happen while I am at work, at night while sleeping, or anytime really.
I have even done a simple test on the skimmer by not adding any food, putting my hands into the tank, or adding anything to the tank for several days and this still happens.

I have the skimmer sitting in 8 inches of water. Sump water level is just below the top of the white discharge tee. I can not close the wedge pipe any or the skimmer overflows. So I just leave it completely open and it skims great until it overflows and dumps all the skimmate back into the tank. This has happened numerous times, once a week at least, since the beginning of the year. If I clean the cup and next every 2 days then it doesnt overflow but it is just not feasible to clean it like that. If I let it go 4 or 5 days without cleaning it overflows.

Here is a pic of what happens. What do I need to do to fix this?
It is driving me crazy.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Hi,

First, are you sure you are definitely at 8" of sump depth? Check this measurement again to be on the safe side. Next, if you have to run the wedge pipe in the fully wide open position, I would look at the following....

- Stick your finger in the outlet just to be 100% sure that the wedge pipe is indeed 100% fully open. The white "T" fitting that the pipe sits in will swivel, so this can at times give the illusion that you are fully open, why it might be 40% closed.

- Pull the silencers completely apart and get the foam fill out of them. If the wedge pipe is indeed fully open and you're at 8" sump depth, then that could mean the silencers are partially blocked, restricting air flow, and increasing water flow. This could be an explanation of running at 8" sump depth with a fully open wedge pipe.

- Measure the fluctuation your sump has a on a daily basis. From the photo it looks like you're using an ATO, as I can see a float in there, but I would check to be sure that float isn't allowing for a larger variance before kicking on and off.

Let me know what you find out.

Thanks,
Jeremy